Not been posting for a long while, I have been busy moving cities and working a new day job, which has disrupted my sculptural works/projects. Working on some new two part 3D print pieces in metal and black polyvinyl.

Fallen - A two part limited edition 3D print, (note this is a work in progress render)- Jake Hempson

Centaur - Part metal limited edition 3D print, (note this is a work in progress render) - Jake Hempson

From the the beinArt gallery bio/blurb : "Jake Hempson (Australia) is a Zimbabwean born multi­disciplinary artist, specialising in sculptural works based on the natural forms of bones as a memento vita, which hark back to a post colonial childhood in Africa. His digital practice is firmly supported by traditional techniques merged with photos of bones which are incorporated into the final piece. During the translation of found objects into digital artwork there are sometimes errors in the capturing and conversion process. Jake finds these captured imperfections fascinating, suggesting they reveal the true nature of the object in its new medium and are important in giving each artwork a sense of authenticity which can then be shaped by the hand of the artist. Jake explains, ‘the works are an exploration of memento vita (memento of life).­ It’s a way to re-experience my childhood fascination with the remains of life. I want to evangelise the beauty of bones, without its associations with the macabre. When I first started my explorations of these forms I initially mislabelled my work memento mori, but through my practice I have realised that my explorations of bones are not a fascination with death, but a fascination with what is the structure of life, as bones hold us together, they are the most resilient structures of us.’­"

My work will be a collection of older and new work,of which this showing will be good way to explore where I move forward with my tactile non augmented sculptural works. I'm feeling pretty chuffed about the whole thing, organising molds and cleaning up castings for the show. The castings will be released as a limited run (final run numbers yet to be decided).

The final works were put together over the last 3 days of the residency and reworked and massaged up until the April30th, launch at GLOW consisting of;WelcomeAt the front of The Arts Centre; this whimsical and humorous work introduces the UnSeenGC trail. Inspired by works from the Gallery’s recent exhibition, Made in QLD: Ode to the Souvenir, this artwork is constructed of found objects from the Gold Coast's recent history.eCubedInspired in colour and form by Geoffrey Ricardos’ work Longer Truths, Longer Lies, this artwork consisting of multiple three dimensional cubes, when viewed from various angles is at once, obvious in shape and totally abstracted.BridgeLooking towards the proposed Chevron Island bridge site; a series of floating mangrove seeds form a bridge-like structure. In the past mangrove trees indicated shallower waters and good crossing points for the traveller.Seeing SurfersLooking east from the peninsular; this spinning form montages flora and fauna of Evandale park - the texture of local bark and resident birds such as curlews, currawongs, lorikeets and crows, with elements from the Surfers Paradise skyline.SWIMSituated over Evandale lake; this artwork merges tidal water, fish and swimmers to pay tribute to the lake and its surrounds frequented by fishermen, picnicking families, joggers, swimmers and stand up paddlers.Future(s?)Looking towards the new precinct location; these dual geodesic spheres form an embryonic shape which builds on the voronoi pattern found in plant cells and hints at the birth of a new future. This artwork is inspired by architectural visions of the future Cultural Precinct.

I have still loads for me to learn regarding the PORPoise side of things (admin system and coding management side of things for layar) and seeing how much further the app layar app and AR medium can be pushed.

Overall I'm happy with the final AR(t) pieces in the way they looked. Reflecting on the site during the residency definitely affected the outcomes of the works, was a stressful but ultimately satisfying experience and process in the end.

I will post my conclusions and reflections on the residency and GLOW launch night tomorrow, for now enjoy the gallery below of the six AR(t) pieces (or even better get down to the Gold Coast Arts Precinct and see them for yourself).

I had a busy day working through ideas on pieces,now I have bit more of an understanding of the site and the GC (Gold Coast). After my bought of insomnia last night a heavy rain and some thunder did come through in at about 4AM.

I got up around six went down to the beach - to onshore blown out conditions and rumbling from the storm-so I didn't bother with a surf but went out for a fun little body surf (Why am I telling you this as artist in residence- well for me that's always been a big part of my experience on the GC and it always has been - the surf - the sea). The beach was empty the sea was a lovely aquamarine, even with rain and choppy water and the water was lovely and warm. It was pretty quiet not as many runners and beach goers I don't think GC folk like the rain, but for me it was perfect body surfing during a thunderstorm - much appreciated by my melancholic aesthetic.​On site I went back to my marker sketches/drawing and conceptual ramblings.Yes I still draw on paper !!!!Why one might ask - Firstly its familiar (its my first medium of expression), its fun and also I often need to take a break from the digital medium/tools that I use, (part a health and safety thing - in my commercial practice I have a 50 hour a week average so repetitive strain injury can be a concern). But mostly I work on paper because its not a precious medium, it allows me to rough out ideas unconstrained/unconcerned with the final result.

Anyway I can go on about the irony of working as a a sculptor in a non tactile medium - but I will leave that for another post. I managed to get some initial sketches and ideas out for the following tentatively titled pieces:

Structure 01/Welcome:- An introduction to AR to the site near the main foyer. A whimsical ( humorous) mandala /abstracted shape constructed from found art souvenirs of the Gold coasts more recent history (based off of the collection from made in QLD - Ode to the souvenir)Longer Truths site (Name yet to be decided):- Cubist inspired abstracted piece, colours and textural elements inspired by Longer Truths - multiple cubes floating in 3d space form an obvious shape/object (to be decided) when viewed from a particular angle and a totally abstract shape when viewed from another.Bridge:- Overlooking the channel towards the site of proposed bridge towards Chevron island consisting of floating mangrove seeds - found art elements a re-interpretation of a bridge like structure -see sketch on the blog (first and second image).See surfers (Name yet to be decided):- Looking out to the east from the peninsular a spinning abstracted mandala of natural elements sourced from flora at Evandale park.Lake: - A fauna based/inspired AR piece situated over Evandale lake, consisting of a merging of water shapes, eels and swimmers (to possibly then spin on an axis?) Future(s?):- Looking towards where the future precinct will be situated. A collection of abstract patterns and colours based off of the current architectural visions for the future precinct and additional found elements on site.

Since I arrived I have been testing the AR on site using previously published data and a test cube with my face textured onto it - (Oh the vanity of artists - hey I never said it was a pretty benchmark - but it serves its function). Anyway I have been placing the test AR POIS (Points of interest) on site trying to iron out any technical issues. On this I have been supported by Warren Armstrong the originator and curator of (Un)seen Sculptures.​​Warren has also set up the admin server which hosts the layar l3d model files and textures. I will go into a technical process post later on this week.

Late yesterday afternoon I took a whole heap of site photos to be incorporated into the final AR(t) pieces and I was sent a while heap of imagery of cultural artifacts from the GC which I will be incorporating into the welcome AR(t) piece.The photography went well, (shot in overcast evening light, just perfect for capturing textures), I took some detailed close up of the plants in the park - I still need additional images of the mangroves seeds.In the process I watched curlews feeding, heard the shouty Lorikeets and got some pretty decent shots of a juvenile Magpie (head pecky parents came to mind whilst shooting).

Late night/early modeling, started with working on working on modeling the geometry on the Bridge AR(t) piece - its still early stages but it should evoke the feeling of past/future that I hope to convey. I have been getting up at 4 AM to work on my digital practice. I am trying to force myself to keep more of regular sleeping pattern and this seems to be as close as I can get lately - 6 hours seems to be all my body will allow me of late - so I am waking up early and going to bed relatively early (yeah I know I need to sort this out and get a longer sleep cycle in).

Its early morning, my documentation hour - 5:45 AM, time for me to finish up and get on with the day - maybe a beach walk before work?.

A busy day working through updates to the AR(t) as well as introducing layar to the volunteer guides at the Gold Coast arts center.As I see AR, specifically phone based AR as a WINDOW into an unseen world. A layer on top/under/outside of our reality, not a replacement only an augmentation of that view/reality, (reality is what we make it).​AR Art :AR in art opens the possibility of multidimensional experiences and interpretations of reality. Augmenting people, objects, and landscapes is becoming an art form in itself.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_realityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality

-dLux is a for-purpose organisation with over 30 years experience in engaging the public through art, technology and ideas. The organisation supports artists working with emerging technologies in creating new ways to engage communities and in showcasing the best of media arts practice though the development of touring exhibitions and a programs of educational workshops and stand out community events.​http://www.dlux.org.au/cms/http://www.dlux.org.au/cms/dTour/un-seen-sculptures.html

Layar App:Is a browser which makes use of the following on your phone:AccelerometerBuilt-in cameraCompassGPS

These are used together to identify the user’s location and field of view. From the geographical position, the various forms of data are laid over the camera view like inserting an additional layer.

1. Using your smartphone or tablet, download the free LAYAR App from iTunes or Google store.2. Open the app, open the menu, go to Geo Layers > Search Layers and search for UnSeen GC 3. Click the icon on the right of the screen, >Filters, >Range then adjust your slider to the maximum range of 1.0 kilometers.4. Follow the map built into the app and use your device to discover the sculptures in the exhibition!

GLOW - 30 April launch day.The six AR(t) pieces to go up for launch day on Saturday the 30th of April (coinciding with GLOW ) titled as follows (more documentation and images to come post launch day):

Welcome:An introduction to AR to the site near the main foyer. A whimsical humorous) mandala/abstracted shape constructed from found art souvenirs of the Gold Coast's more recent history. Inspired by the recent collection at Arts Centre Gold Coast, Made in QLD: Ode to the Souvenir.

eCubed:Cube based abstracted piece, colours and forms inspired by Geoffrey Ricardos’ Longer Truths, consisting of multiple cubes floating in 3D space forming an obvious shape from a particular angle and a totally abstracted shape when viewed from another.

Bridge:Overlooking the channel towards the site of proposed bridge towards Chevron island, this piece consists of a series of floating mangrove seed inspired shapes, a re-interpretation of a bridge-like structure. Also Mangrove trees in times past would have indicated shallower waters and crossing points.

Seeing surfers:Looking out to the east from the peninsular a spinning abstracted piece based off of natural elements sourced from flora at Evandale park and the architectural skyline of Surfers Paradise .

SWIM:Situated over Evandale lake, A fauna and recreation inspired piece consisting of a merging of water shapes, fish and swimmers.

Future(s?):Looking towards where the future precinct will be situated. Dual geodesic spheres forming an embryonic shape, patterned on the architectural visions of the future precinct, the combining of voronoi shapes found in plant cells.------Will continue this post tomorrow - kind of lost my steam

Well there you go, working and playing with technology - the usual happened, technical issues (blah...the non -creative issues).

Initially in the project I was having trouble viewing my AR(t) in the layer AR viewer. The phone could "see" the pieces, but I certainly couldn't see them through my phone. It turns out it was a sizing issue. My object size & scaling factor were both defaulting to 0, which made the object invisible. Side fact - it turns out the l3d model converter doesn't actually store a scale value for the layar object, all the scale, position and gps settings are only managed through the SQL admin site.

So onto today's amusing screenshots of errors- (I can't help documenting/disclosing this - blame my game dev background I have to show my uglies as well as my pretties).

The pieces being put together during this residency are a collection of memories, past present and future, with a sense of geometric presenceI worked on two pieces; Bridge_ and eCubed as well as fleshing out the visuals and a narrative behind the six pieces, (these are very much artistic sketches and by no means represent the final works or final title of the piece).

Its going to be interesting to see how people re-capture these pieces on their phones/3G tablets. How they re-interpret them through how they frame the AR(t) pieces. I imagine people will be taking selfies with the pieces that interest them and trying to re-frame the work into the viewers personal context. The phone for me is a portal onto the work but a portal on can re-frame and manipulate by moving the camera or by inserting oneself into the shot.The AR(t) pieces are not self occluding and can be seen from multiple viewpoints and not just where I place the GPS markers.And I still have to finalize the AR(t) pieces individual scales, positions add rotations and positional offsets. Loads more to do.